CVE-2025-53997

Houzez <= 4.0.4 - Missing Authorization

2025-07-16 00:00

Strategic Overview

Status: Patched in 4.1.1
Affected Theme: Houzez
Affected Version: <= 4.0.4
CVSS: 4.3Medium
Weakness type: CWE-862 · Missing Authorization
CVE: CVE-2025-53997

At a glance

CVE-2025-53997 is a medium-severity Missing Authorization vulnerability in the Houzez WordPress theme, affecting versions <= 4.0.4. It carries a CVSS score of 4.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). The root cause is a missing authorization check on a reachable function. The issue is fixed in version 4.1.1; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed July 2025, reported by Tran Nguyen Bao Khanh.

Vulnerability Overview

The Houzez theme for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized access due to a missing capability check on a function in all versions up to, and including, 4.0.4. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to perform an unauthorized action.

Technical Analysis

The vector marks this flaw as remotely reachable over the network, with low attack complexity — no special timing or configuration is needed, and no interaction from a victim user.

CWE-862: Missing Authorization

Reaching this weakness in Houzez <= 4.0.4 takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. A missing authorization check means a function is reachable by anyone who can reach the endpoint, because the code never asks whether the caller is allowed to perform the action.

Any user who can reach the endpoint gets to run an action reserved for higher-privileged roles, from reading protected data to changing settings or content. For Houzez the fix is 4.1.1: builds <= 4.0.4 are affected, anything from 4.1.1 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 4.1.1, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

Because it turns on account access, WordSec's login security is the relevant layer: role-based two-factor, captcha and brute-force limits raise the cost of getting the account this needs. None of that substitutes for the fix: Houzez 4.1.1 closes this, and updating the theme is the step that ends it.

Login Security
Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-53997 https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/a77c8c09-5216-4190-89b7-28da4917295b https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-53997

Related records

Same weakness class

Other vulnerabilities in Houzez

CVSS Vector

4.3

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

Base

Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges RequiredLow
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
ConfidentialityNone
IntegrityLow
AvailabilityNone

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